Student pamphlet to look at language barriers

A group of English as a Second Language students from Glencliff High School have been awarded a $4,000 state grant to develop a pamphlet explaining the special needs of foreign students.

The group formed from a study circle organized through a Scarritt-Bennett program called Nashville DID! Study circles are groups of citizens that examine civic issues, problems and solutions.

After the completion of their study circle, the students decided to continue meeting and prepare a pamphlet with guidelines to help teachers and parents understand foreign high school students who are integrating into a new culture. The students will also produce a video.

Joanne Rich with Nashville Diversity and Dialogue (DID!) said the state grant was awarded this year specifically to buy materials for the project.

Seyde Chansuthus, 17, said she was a part of the group because she wanted to do something for her school and speak up for ESL students. She and her friends said there were a large number of foreign students at Glencliff High who use English as their second language.

Many in the group are from different Asian nationalities. Even though some were born in the United States, they said they experienced adjustment problems when starting school in an all-English environment.

The students will make several suggestions based on their first-hand experience. One is that people shouldn